The Extraordinary Inner Hermione
by ruan-san
Summary: Being in the middle of a war, Hermione figured dying young was pretty much inevitable. Waking up in the mind of a five year old girl? Now that was unexpected.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Another new story, and just like the other ones, updates depend on the response it gets. Good response=fast updates. Bad response=slow updates. I haven't seen anything like this story before, so that's why I wrote it. I mean, I've seen stories where Hermione dies or something and then wakes up as Sakura. I haven't seen any where she des and wakes up as _Inner_ Sakura. Hope you guys enjoy the chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I do noT own anything.**

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Sakura hiccupped, rubbing at her eyes violently.

_Stop crying!_ She told herself. _You're a big girl now!_

But even as she thought that, stronger sobs forced their way through her.

**Hey, are you okay?** A voice asked her, startling the young girl.

"H-hello? Who-who's t-there?" Sakura asked through her sniffles, looking around her empty room.

**What's wrong? Why are you crying?** The voice asked her, ignoring Sakura's own inquiries.

"The other kids bullied me again," she admitted after a moment, feeling like a baby for crying. "They called me names like "Ugly" and "Forehead." They said I don't deserve to go to school with them. They said that I should..."

**That you should what, Sweetheart?** The voice prodded lightly, Sakura now identifying the voice as female.

"That I should just kill myself," she finished softly, a fresh wave of tears escaping.

**That's just horrible!** The woman gasped.

"Maybe they were right. Maybe-"

**Don't you ever think like that!** The woman snapped.

Sakura jolted, too shocked to say anything. Seeing that Sakura wasn't going to protest, the woman continued.

**Look in the mirror.** The woman told her, her voice kind yet firm.

"Why?"

**Just look.**

Sakura moved off her pink, big girl bed, and went to stand in front of the mirror that her parents attached to the back of her door.

**Do you know what I see?** The woman asked.

"Ugly pink hair, a too big forehead, and freaky green eyes?" Sakura asked bitterly, repeating the very words spoken to her a mere hour ago by her peers.

**No. I see a beautiful little girl with the most unique hair color I have ever seen. I see sparkling green eyes that shine with strength and determination.**

"You're lying!" Sakura cried, glaring hatefully at her reflection.

**No I'm not. I see absolutely nothing wrong** **with you.**

"Oh yeah?" Sakura challenged. "What about my forehead? Can't say anything about that, huh?"

**Yes, I suppose it is a tad larger than average.** The woman conceded. However, before Sakura could claim victory, the woman interrupted.** But do you know what that tells me?**

"What?"

**It tells me that, behind that behind that larger than average forehead, there's a larger than average brain capable of great things.**

There was warmth behind those words, Sakura could tell, and it made her cry harder than before. And as she cried, she smiled. And she laughed. She could hear the kind laugh of the woman in her head, and it only made Sakura happier.

**What's your name?** The woman asked, a curious tint to her words.

"Haruno Sakura. What's yours?"

**I'm Hermione-**, there was a pause, **I'm...you. Now.**

"Me?" Sakura asked, bewildered, but also curious of what the voice was going to say at first.

**Yep. You. But you can call me... Inner. Inner Sakura. I'm you, but the you inside your mind.**

"That doesn't sound...normal," Sakura remarked, wondering if she should worry that there was a voice in her head claiming to be another her. It sounded like those things her daddy would joke about.

**Well, then I guess we're not normal. We'll be even better than normal. We're going to be extraordinary.**

And as Sakura felt her heart swell, she forgot about her worries-forgot about the questionable voice in her head, the bullies, and her own insecurities. She was too busy looking forward to the extraordinary.

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**AN: The next chapter will explain how Hermione died. Tell me what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

"What else did you take, what else? ANSWER ME! _CRUCIO!" _Bellatrix demanded, her demented madness seeping into every word. Before Hermione could form an answer, the pain overtook her, and she found herself screaming, despite the soreness from all the screams before.

Her body was on fire, burning agonizing white heat, while her mind was in chaos. No coherent thoughts, and no concrete feelings other than _pain. _She coud still feel the sting on her arm from Bellatrix's knife.

At this point, Hermione wasn't even sure how she was conscious. _Was_ she conscious? Yes, she had to be. There was no way she could imagine pain of this caliber. She thought she could hear Ron screaming something, but it was so marred by Bellatrix's yells and her own screams that she couldn't tell.

"How...my vault? Did...filthy little goblin...help you?" Hermione just barely managed to make out what was being said, but it was enough for her to understand.

"We only just met him tonight!" she tried to say, not sure if it was understood. "We've never been inside your vault... It's not the real sword! It's a copy, just a copy!"

This time, she was sure she was unconscious, but the screaming didn't stop. Nor did the pain—Bellatrix's Cruciatus only seemed to increase in strength. Before she knew it, she was being pulled to her feet, something cold and sharp being held against her throat.

"STOP OR SHE DIES!" she heard loud and clear, the crazed voice right in her ear.

Hermione fought to stay awake, to focus on what was going on (_Were Ron and Harry okay? Was she going to die? Did Bellatrix call her master already?) _but it seemed an impossible feat.

She was pushed away from her suddenly, and she hit the floor with a thud. Multiple sharp objects fell upon her the next second, digging into her body, but she didn't even have the energy left to scream. She groaned when she felt someone tugging her out from under whatever fell on top of her.

There was the pull of apparition, and at that moment Hermione made a grievous mistake. She made the mistake of _hoping_. Normally, this would not be considered a mistake, but then something plunged into her chest. It burned of Dark Magic, and she knew she wouldn't last long enough for her and her friends to land wherever they were headed.

And because she let herself hope, this fact hurt her even more.

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She was almost sure she was in Hell. She reasoned that waking up safe and (mostly) sound in what looked like Hogwarts—it was much too silent to be the _real_ magnificent castle—while her friends were fighting a war that needed to end was the worst possible thing that could happen. Knowing that she would never be able to do anything to help them was what made this hell to her.

She roamed 'Hogwarts' to keep herself occupied. The first time, she noticed how parts of the castle seemed to be missing. As time went on, these missing pieces would slowly but surely fade into place, good a new. Once the library finally reappeared, she wasted no time in entering. The fact that the library only contained the books she had already read only solidified her theory of being in hell—especially when, glancing inside one of them, some words proved to be missing.

It was only when she spied _Secrets of the Mind: The Art of Occlumency_ in the Restricted Section did she realize what was going on. She was in what was called a Memory Palace as her mind healed itself from Bellatrix's Crucio. She remembered looking into Occlumency when Harry had attempted to learn in Fifth Year, but had never tried it herself. According to the text, everyone had a Memory Palace, but only those truly intuned with their minds could successfully access it. She wondered if she was one of those intuned with her mind, or perhaps just entrapped within.

Most likely the latter.

In what felt like a month, the castle was restored to its former glory—or, what she remembered of it, at least.

And that's when things got even stranger.

She had just finished rearranging all the books—she never did like the way Ms. Pince arranged them, and since it was her mind, she figured, free reign—when soft sobs echoed throughout the castle.

Perhaps it was the time spent in solitude in her own mind that made her soft, made her drop her gaurd, but Hermione decided to follow the sound of the sobs without hesitation. Moody would have probably cursed her for her negligence.

But, at the moment, she couldn't bring herself to care. All she cared about away the familiar sound of a young girl crying her eyes out, and the sudden urge inside her that told her to comfort whoever it was.

She followed the sound, curious when it led her to where the Room of Requirement would have been located in the real Hogwarts. She hadn't actually been there in her mindscape, so she wondered what she would find there. While some of the rooms were as she remembered, others stored things that her mind deemed important.

The portraits depicted still images of important moments of her life (she suspected the last things she saw before her death would be there as well, but she had no desire to seek those particular pictures out).

Curiously enough, there was already a door waiting for her there. She opened it cautiously, only just realizing how reckless she had been, but still wanting to get behind the mystery of the crying girl.

Pink. A lot of it. That's what the door led to. And yet, she could still hear the sobs, louder than ever. Her eyes swept around the room, but no matter how many times she looked, it remained empty. There was a door to her left, and on a whim, she opened it.

Nope. Just a closet. An empty one at that. Heaving a sigh, she crossed the room over to the bed. It was a small, twin sized bed, dressed in, you guessed it, pink sheets. She knelt down, grabbing the edge of the bed skirt, ready to pull it up. After all, by the sound of the voice, the girl she was looking for couldn't have been older than ten. And, when Hermione was younger, she would often hide under her bed when she was bothered about something.

It made her feel safe, somehow.

Again, there was no one. But the sobs continued. Frustrated, she threw herself on the bed. She closed her eyes, hoping she could block out the sound since she couldn't find the source. After a while, she took a chance and tried speaking to the child.

Imagine her surprise when she spoke back.

When the girl told Hermione of the bullying she suffered through, she was indignant. Even when the children back home teased her (Beaver, Know-it-all, Bushy-haired freak, Mudblood), they had never gone so far as to suggest she kill herself.

Except maybe the Pureblood fanatics.

Hermione searched the room with a new vigor, not quite sure what she was looking for, but knowing she needed to find some way to help this girl. She pulled back the curtains beside the bed, and jumped back in shock at what met her.

Floorboards. Instead of some sort of outdoor landscape, the wooden floorboards of the very room she stood in met her.

Her eyes widened in realization.

She was in the girl's own Memory Palace. And the window-well, the eyes are the windows to the soul and all that. She supposed it made sense that looking out the window was like looking out of the girl's eyes.

And this girl was looking down at the floorboards as if she had something to be ashamed of.

Firmly, she told her to look in the mirror.

The sight shocked her, to be completely honest. She had seen pink hair before, of course (Tonks and the odd muggle that thought pink hair would suit them), but this girl had cotton candy colored hair that Hermione could tell was completely natural. Her eyes were a bright green that reminded her of Harry-more due to their depth than the actual color.

And it was what as she saw in those beautiful eyes that convinced her. Hermione decided, right then, that this girl was destined for greatness. Just like Harry.

But with any luck, Hermione could make this girl's path to the extraordinary just a little easier.

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**AN: And there's Hermione's side of things. I know that's not really how a Memory Palace is supposed to work, but it fit in my story so whatever. Besides, I haven't explained much about it yet so...On a side note, there was actually another thousand or so words (okay, that might've been a bit of an exaggeration), but something happened. I've been writing everything on my phone, hooked up to wifi, and I guess I must've disconnected or something. When I tried to save, I didn't notice that I wasn't connected to wifi, and I Lost all that writing! Grr. Sorry, I was too pissed off to try and rewrite everything. But uh, tell me what you think. **

**Oh, I also don't own those lines from the book** **that I used in the beginning.**


End file.
